


Babysitter Club

by MagicMalcolm



Series: Dating For Demons [9]
Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Babysitting, Broody Main Character, Established Relationship, Finn Has Finally Got His Ice-Cream, Gen, M/M, Original Female Character - Freeform, Self-Doubt, original child character - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-07
Updated: 2016-10-14
Packaged: 2018-07-22 05:48:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7422298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicMalcolm/pseuds/MagicMalcolm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"It's fine!  We'd be happy to look after the little fella for a while."  "We would?"</p>
<p>Sami Zayn is never one to turn down a friend in need, even if it means going well out of his comfort zone to do so.  At least Finn seems enthusiastic about the whole thing...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. And Baby Makes Three

A rare day off.  Both Finn and Sami had the exact same day off.  How this miracle of minor proportions occurred, no-one was quite sure.

Sami honestly couldn't believe it, even as he happily pottered around the kitchen making pancakes for his and Finn's breakfast.  Well...by the time Finn actually deigned to make an appearance, maybe it would be more like breakfast for dinner.  Finn had taken great delight in switching off the alarms on their mobile phones the previous evening, and for the first time in approximately aeons Finn was having a lie-in and no power on this earth was moving him until Finn was good and ready.

Except for, perhaps, the tantalizing scent of Sami’s freshly cooked, homemade pancakes.

" **Please** tell me you’re bringing those through to the bedroom, Sami," Finn's voice eagerly echoed throughout the apartment.

"No, Finn, I'm not cleaning up any food crumbs off our bed or any jam and syrup you happen to dribble everywhere," Sami's reply was firm and Finn was fairly certain there was a glare being directed into the pancake batter, "Either get your lazy butt outta that bed and come eat with me, or I'm having one _heck_ of a cheat day."

Finn sighed, just about ready to concede defeat, "You could put them on a tray?"

"And you could be eating cold, _soggy_ cereal all by yourself whilst I eat these warm, _heavenly_ , **_fluffy_** pancakes..."

Sami Zayn wins.  _Flawless victory._

Finn sighed dramatically as he swung his legs off the side of the bed, "Can I at least bring the duvet with me?"

"No.  Dribbly syrup and jam, remember?"

"Dammit..." Finn groaned, slipping his feet into his R2D2 slippers, "These better be the greatest pancakes in the world, Sami Zayn..."

* * *

"You got lucky..."

Sami grinned at Finn over his cup of coffee, the Irishman's face contorting into pure food induced bliss.  Finn had almost immediately commandeered the maple syrup out of spite, but given the absolute joy it must've been giving Finn's taste buds Sami found he could live with the boysenberry.

“Why do we even have boysenberry jam?” Finn asked, wrinkling his nose up as Sami happily slathered the jam over his pancakes, “…scratch that, what the Hell **_is_** a boysenberry anyway?”

“It’s like the unholy alliance of about five different berries,” Sami grinned, “So it’s almost like having my five-a-day in one go!”

“No, Sami, you’re not getting away with that one.”

"Spoilsport.  So, now that you're actually gracing the day with your glorious self," Sami chuckled at the withering glare being thrown in his direction, "Do you want to actually do anything today, or were you really just going to pretend to be a bed bug for the duration?"

"Uhm..."

Before Finn could further elaborate, there was a sharp knock on the apartment door.  Sami tilted his head in its direction, a slightly confused look on his face.

"Well...we didn't buzz anyone in, so it must be one of the neigh..." Sami trailed off as he turned back to look at Finn, only to find himself staring at an empty couch, "... _bours_...Finn, what the **actual** Houdini are you pulling on me here?"

A voice Sami could only presume was Finn’s echoed from behind the couch, "I'm **not** coming out until I know it's not the cougar from across the hallway waiting to pounce!"

Sami shook his head in bemusement, "Y'know, Cindy's not quite old enough to be considered a cougar..."

"I **_DON'T CARE_** WHAT WILD CAT SHE IS!  MAKE HER _GO'WAY!"_

Sami chuckled to himself, walking over to the door and having a precautionary peek through the peephole.

"It's fine, Finn," Sami smiled widely as he unlocked the door, "It's just J&J from down the way."

Sami opened the door to welcome his guests, Jenny and her two-year old son Jack.  Jenny had moved in to the apartment complex not long after Sami had, and the two had shared moving-in woes and ‘no plates or microwaves so takeaways it is’ together.  In Jenny's arms was her currently fast asleep son, Jack.  Jack had been born soon before Jenny had moved in...Sami had wondered at the time about Jack's father, but felt it impolite to ask.

Turned out he was just in Europe on business at the time.  A bit of a relief that turned out to be.

"Heylow Jenny, come on in!  What can I..." Sami trailed off as he noted a rather distressed look on Jenny's face, "...uh, help you with?"

"Oh, Sami...sorry to bother you...I know this is probably your only day off for the next forever..." Jenny looked over Sami's shoulder at the couch, where Finn Bálor had just poked his head up from behind it.  He waved meekly in her direction, "...uh, _hi_ Finn?"

"Ignore him, he thought you were a puma," Sami chuckled at the indignant sound being shot at him from Finn's direction, "What's up, Jenny?"

"Oh, Sami..." She sniffed, "My dad's been taken into hospital!  I've no idea what's going on, just been told I have to get on over there...I don't want to take Jack in there, y'know, just in case it's serious."

"Ooh, yeah, that'd traumatize a kid something awful," Sami winced; only barely noticing Finn walking up towards them from his peripheral vision, "So...you want a lift in, or...?"

"Actually, I was kinda hoping you could look after Jack for me for a few hours?" Jenny pleaded, "I know you probably had plans for your day off, but...I don't know who else to ask!"

"It's fine!" Finn interjected himself, "We'd be happy to look after the little fella for a while."

Sami gulped, "We _would?"_

"Absolutely!" Finn grinned, "Do you have a baby bag or something?  Supplies?  **TOYS**?!"

"Of course..." Jenny smiled warmly, "Could you take him for a second, I'll go and get everything.  Thank you both, so much!"

"It's not a problem!" Finn smiled as Jenny handed Jack over to Sami, who fumbled with the toddler for a moment before settling down, "He'll be in good hands...right, Sami?"

"He _will?"_

"You just worry about your da," Finn ignored Sami's panicked squeak of a response, "Let us know if you need anything else?"

"Yes, of course!" Jenny managed a small smile as she helped Sami prop Jack up a little better, "You ever gonna figure out how to hold a kid properly, Sami?"

"Uh..." Sami tried to put a reassuring smile on his face, "... _maybe?"_

"Maybe?" Finn sounded completely unconvinced, "I mean...you must’ve had loads of practice before with Kevin's kids?"

"...well, there was this one time he asked me to hold Owen..." Sami grimaced at the memory, "Held the poor kid like he was a bomb all ready to explode.  Kevin was less than impressed and basically banned me from child holding ever since."

"Well, time to get some more practice then," Finn grinned as Jack began to stir in Sami's arms, "Baby bag, Jenny?"

"Right, sorry," Jenny sighed, "Mind's a-muddled.  I'll be right back."

"...maybe we should've discussed this a bit first?" Sami sighed, trying to keep Jack level in his arms, "I'm really not that good with kids."

"Sure you are," Finn smiled reassuringly, "You've dealt with me for the better part of two years, right?"

"That's not really the same thing, though?" Sami looked down at the child resting in his arms, "He's...gonna be depending on us, Finn."

"You're the most dependable guy I know, Sami, I trust you with a lot of things I wouldn't **dare** let anyone else near," Finn soothed, "Jenny wouldn't have left him with us if she didn't think we were capable."

"But...what if I drop him?" Sami began to shiver slightly, "Can't just put him back together like a Lego model.  Oh, what if he gets sick or something?  Would our insurance cover that?  Maybe he won't even like being around us and cry for his mum all the time..."

"Ssh, Sami...it's okay.  You know Jack likes you, you've been around him for his whole life...Sami, can you take a few deep breaths for me?" Finn gently began to rub the back of Sami's neck, "I thought you'd love having a kid around...I mean, you're so good with the younger fans.  I'm sorry that I just barged in to say we'd do this."

"I know, you saw a friend in trouble and just wanted to help," Sami sighed, "I'd have ended up saying yes anyway...just really nervous, s'all."

Finn frowned, "Because of what Kevin said?"

"Because he's an actual tiny person and I might actually break him..." Sami sniffed, "Could...you take him for now?  Please?"

"Sure, here we go..." Finn slipped his arms around Jack with practiced ease, barely jostling the toddler, "Hey, still sleepin'.  Good boy."

"Good...yeah, great," Sami let out a breath of relief; "I'll...go and get the stuff from Jenny.  Just need a moment to get my head in gear for this."

"Sure..." Finn replied somewhat distantly, Sami almost missed Finn looking at the child in his arms with unguarded wonder as he left.  His breath caught in his throat at the look, and Sami found he had to get out of there just a fraction quicker than before…

* * *

Sami had hoped getting away from the baby for a second might have calmed his nerves slightly, but as Jenny presented him with a comically oversized bag filled with baby supplies he could feel the butterflies flitting around once again.  He managed the bravest face he could for Jenny as she headed off to the hospital; after all she was the one going through the emotional maelstrom right now...

He chuckled derisively to himself, and couldn't help feeling a little foolish for even thinking he was the one in a bad situation when one of his friends was going through something much worse.

Sami stood outside the apartment door for a minute, taking a few more deep breaths and remembering Finn's words from earlier.

"Okay, Sami, it'll be fine..." He muttered to himself, "Jack _likes_ you.  He shared his dessert with you that one time.  Then again, baby desserts taste awful and he probably just wanted rid of it.  **_Focus_**.  He just needs to be fed and burped and changed occasionally...can't be that difficult...just a smaller version of Finn.  **Yes**.  Right.  Standing here talking to myself in the middle of the hallway.  _Yikes_."

Sami allowed himself one more deep breath before opening his apartment door, trying to keep quiet as Jack was asleep when he left.

The soft giggles that filled the apartment suggested that was probably no longer the case.

Sami wandered into the living area, and had to stop short at the sight that awaited him.  Finn had relocated back to the couch, bouncing a happy sounding Jack in his arms.  Finn was waving his stuffed Finn the Human toy in the air, just keeping out of Jack’s reach.  The toddler seemed transfixed by the strange looking thing hovering in the air, and giggled madly every time Finn gently bopped him on the head with it.

It was the sheer _joy_ on Finn’s face that had caught Sami the most off guard.  Finn was gleefully laughing along with Jack, not only totally at ease being around the young child but actually being _happy_ about it.  Sami could suddenly understand why Finn had been so amazed when the younger NXT fans had cheered for him, and why he had been genuinely shocked that they liked him in any way.

_“I was so used to people hating me in Japan, was prepared for the same treatment over here…but now little kids want to meet me for their birthdays, dress up like **me** and want to pose along with me!  That’s unreal, Sami!  Isn’t that **incredible**?”_

Sami was surprised to find himself blinking back tears.  He almost felt like he was intruding on something extremely personal for Finn, an intimate glance at a side of Finn he wasn’t aware existed before now.  _Did any of Finn’s brothers have kids?_   _He had taken Jack in his arms so easily…_

_…was this something Finn wanted in the future?_

“Sami?  You alright, love?”

Sami shook his head quickly, trying to clear the thoughts away as he heard Finn calling for him.  Finn had paused momentarily in his game with Jack to look over at him…a slight frown on Finn’s face the only indication that he’d figured something might be wrong.  Before Sami could answer, a little squeal sounded from the couch.

“’ami?” Jack started shuffling in Finn’s arms, obviously trying to see where Sami was, “’ami ‘ere, ‘inn?”

“Yep, he’s just over there,” Finn adjusted his hold on Jack to turn him around to see Sami.  Jack clapped his little hands together upon seeing him, and Sami couldn’t help but smile bashfully at the reception he was receiving, “Sounds like you’ve got a fan here, Sami.”

“Yeah…” Sami set the baby bag down beside the couch, before sitting himself down beside Finn, “Hey kiddo…hope you’re okay with hanging out with us today.”

Jack probably didn’t understand the words, but judging by the wide smile on his face he might just have understood the context.  Jack raised his arms towards Sami, making little grabby hands in his direction, “wann ‘ami.”

“You okay with that?” Finn asked gently, the memory of how terrified Sami seemed earlier still fresh on his mind.

“…well, it’d be rude to deny my number one fan’s request, wouldn’t it?” Sami put on a brave smile as he reached over to take Jack from Finn.

“T’aught **_I_** was your number one fan?” Finn grumbled good-naturedly.

“Jack’s been a fan of mine all his life, Finn,” Sami chided him playfully, trying to get both himself and Jack into a comfortable position, “I think he _just_ ekes you out?”

“You win this round, kid,” Finn grinned as Jack stuck his tongue out at him, “Troublemaker.”

Sami couldn’t help but laugh despite his nerves.  The joy radiating from the two kids in the room was particularly infectious.

“Right, so…” Sami gently tickled Jack on the tummy, smiling at the giggles he received in response, “Uh…what now?  I mean…do we just sit here taking turns with Jack or…?”

“Hmm…” Finn scratched his chin thoughtfully, “Well, it’s a nice day out…maybe we could go for a walk or something?  Get some lunch?  Ooh, we could get ice cream!”

“We don’t have a baby buggy, though?”

“Sami, we routinely throw around men nearly twice our size for a living,” Finn grinned cheekily, “I think between us we can carry a toddler around for an hour or two...plus he can _probably_ walk a bit on his own?”

“I suppose it would be better for him to be out in the fresh air…” Sami mused, “Could you check the bag for sunscreen…maybe look out some baby food or something?  I dunno if Jenny’s fed him or not…wait, will he be on solids now?  What do you feed a two year old?”

“Relax, mom,” Finn smiled at the confused look on Sami’s face, moving off the couch to rummage through Jack’s baby bag, “Guess I’ll get to be the fun parent today, right Jack?”

“’ami’s fun!” Jack giggled, shuffling closer towards Sami’s embrace.

“The jury has spoken,” Sami chuckled at the huffy look on Finn’s face, “Well, if we’re going out you’d better get dressed.  I don’t think Jack would appreciate being led around by a man in Star Wars slippers.”

“Only ‘cause he’s too young to watch it yet,” Finn grinned as he held up a bottle of sunscreen, “I’ll have him properly educated in no time when he’s older.”

“That is a _terrifying_ thought…” Sami laughed as Finn threw a stuffed giraffe at him.  It landed neatly on Jack’s tummy, and he squealed in delight as he tried to grab his toy, “Hey, watch your aim!  Tiny child in the splash zone!”

“Oops, got a little carried away there…” Finn replied bashfully.

“Dressed.  Go get.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sami is really not sure of who the biggest child in his care really is.

Sami sighed as Finn rushed off to to get ready to take Jack out for the day, not realizing until a moment later that it meant he was now completely alone with Jack.  A small bubble of panic began to rise in Sami's chest as he nervously looked down at the child he was going to be partially responsible for for the next few hours.  Thankfully, Jack seemed preoccupied with the toy giraffe and whether or not it would fit entirely in his mouth.

“Well, you…look, I’m really sorry if I end up being _really_ bad at this,” Sami shook his head softly, “You know, I’ve never really been around small kids all that much?  I mean, apart from Owen and Élodie…and that’s kind of a no-go subject these days…”

Sami let out a small puff of air before continuing.

“Haven’t really thought about kids all the much, really…not since…” Sami pursed his lips together, “Well…since I figured out that I wasn’t going to be a good Muslim boy by marrying a nice girl and providing lots of grandkids…my mum’s still a bit sour over that, but don’t tell her I said that if you ever meet her, okay?  She’s been really supportive, y’know, respectful of all my weird and wonderful decisions?”

Sami chuckled lightly, watching Jack trying to stuff the giraffe into his mouth from a completely different angle.  _He was persistent_ , Sami had to admit to himself as he gently took the giraffe from Jack, before the beady eyes went anywhere near his mouth, “Finn’s definitely a weird one, though.  Good weird, I mean.  Like, he’s never mentioned kids before…he’s certainly excited about having you around today, though.  Not that I’m not excited too…just…I ‘unno, wasn’t prepared for this?  I mean, all I thought I’d have to worry about today was jam stains…”

Sami blinked as he saw Jack scrunching his nose up, “Aww, sorry kiddo, didn’t mean to get all philosophical on you…don’t worry, we’ll all have a fun day out,” Sami gently beeped Jack on the nose, and Jack’s face unscrunched itself back into a smile, “Promise.”

“Ready!”

Sami smiled to himself at Finn’s announcement.  Making sure he had a firm grasp on Jack, Sami eased himself up off the couch to see…

“Finn…what the…” Sami forced himself to stop short, remembering the young child in his arms was probably listening intently, “…what… _are_ you wearing?”

“Like it?!” Finn grinned, standing with his legs slightly apart and both hands clasped behind his back, “It’s the prototype for Noam’s new T-Shirt!  He sent me an advance print!  Isn’t it awesome?”

To say Sami was dumbstruck at what he was witnessing would be an understatement.  Sami knew Noam Dar had an almost equal fascination with Star Wars that Finn did, but Sami had no idea just how much Noam felt about the franchise until now.  There on the T-Shirt, in a similar pose to the one Finn was striking, was Jar-Jar Binks dressed up like Noam…with the caption ‘Dar Dar Binks’ to the side.  Sami probably would’ve appreciated the pun more if he hadn’t been rendered absolutely mystified.

Jack’s eyes widened at the sight, before he burrowed his head into Sami’s chest, “…scary…”

Finn’s grin immediately faltered, “He doesn’t like it?  But…it’s cute!  I thought it’d be really kid-friendly…it **_is_** cute, isn’t it Sami?”

“Uh…it’s a nice play on words?” Sami offered, very weakly, “…nice colours?”

Finn sighed sadly, “…I’ll go change then…prob’ly shouldn’t wear it in public ‘till it’s officially released anyway…”

Finn skulked off back to their bedroom; leaving Sami to low key breathe a sigh of relief.  He glanced down at Jack, the toddler still hiding his face away in Sami’s chest, “It’s okay kiddo, the affront to humanity is gone.”

Jack lifted his head up slightly, a frown still on the youngster’s face.  Sami smiled reassuringly, “Thanks for backing me up on that shirt, by the way…to think a two-year old would have better fashion sense than an ex-Armani Exchange model.”

“I **HEARD** THAT, SAMI ZAYN!”

Jack chuckled brightly at Finn’s irate retort, “’inn silly.”

“He sure is!” Sami grinned, “My silly Finny.”

Finn eventually re-emerged from the bedroom, not totally giving up on the Star Wars themed ensemble.  He was now sporting his “Rey&Finn&Poe&BB-8” T-shirt, with a slightly bemused look on his face as he regarded the pair of goofballs in front of him.

“Well now, if the pair of ya are done mocking me?” Finn rolled his eyes and walked over towards Jack’s baby bag, “Where are we gonna go today?”

* * *

Finn and Sami eventually decided to hop on a bus to nearby Kissimmee.  It wasn’t quite as busy and hectic as Orlando, which would be good for Jack, but it was still touristy enough to keep Finn occupied for a while.  Finn immediately commandeered the window seat on the bus, and he happily held Jack up so he could look outside the window with him.  That left Sami to hold onto the backpack filled with baby supplies.  Sami had the bright idea to bring a few necessary items with them in a smaller backpack instead of bringing the whole baby bag whilst Finn was applying the sunscreen to Jack.  Finn had also found a sunhat in the bag, which was promptly placed on Jack’s head.  So far he’d only tried to remove the hat five times, which Finn assured Sami was actually below average for kids that age.

Sami had spent most of the short bus trip watching the pair, a small smile on his face as Jack pointed excitedly at _everything_ and Finn indulged his youthful exuberance to the best of his ability.  He had wondered if the trio would garner any looks from the other passengers, but they were ignored for the most part...Sami had no earthly clue what would happen if a fan had seen them out with a child…knowing Finn’s fan base, the internet could very well **explode**.  Only one person had said anything to them, a sweet little old lady who pleasantly remarked that Jack was such a well-behaved boy and lamenting that her own grandson was a wild little rapscallion.

“So did you two dears adopt this little guy?” She had asked Sami, because Finn was preoccupied with trying to stop Jack from licking the window.

“Oh, no, he’s not ours…” Sami tried to keep the stammer out of his voice at the misconception, “We’re just looking after the scamp for a friend.”

“Not even yours and _still_ so well-behaved…I’m rather jealous.”

“Yeah, he’s a good…” Sami blinked at the sudden giggle from beside him.  He turned around to see Finn had covered his face with one of his hands, whilst Jack was waving a balled up fist in the air, “… _kid_ …tell me he didn’t just punch you, Finn.”

“No!” Finn’s laugh was muffled from behind his hand, “He’s got ma nose!”

“Are you for real?” Sami snorted, looking over at the triumphant Jack, “Did you _really_ take Finn’s nose, Jack?”

Sami almost didn’t hear Jack’s reply over all of his laughter, “’es!”

“Well, could you give it back?” Sami asked as seriously as one could when faced with a child holding an imaginary nose hostage, “Finn kinda needs it?  I like his face better with the nose.”

To Sami’s absolute amazement, Jack actually appeared to think about it for a second.  He watched on as Jack’s eyebrows furrowed together, glancing between his tiny fist and Finn’s hand-covered face.

Sami decided to break out the heavy artillery to deal with this crisis situation as quickly as possible, “ _Please?”_

Jack let out a tiny baby sigh, before tapping his fist against the back of Finn’s hand.  Finn immediately uncovered his face, letting out a very exaggerated gasp of surprise.

“Sami, I got my nose back!” Finn cheered, turning back to give Jack a hug, “Yaaay!”

The little old lady chuckled to herself, addressing Sami one more time, “...you’re sure he’s not yours?”

“I am not admitting responsibility to either of these people,” Sami replied as seriously as he could.  The impact was lessened _somewhat_ by the dopey grin on his face.

* * *

“So, do we have a particular destination here, or are we just gonna wander aimlessly for a while?” Finn asked Sami as they got off the bus.  Jack had happily remained in Finn’s arms coming off the bus, little arms wrapped tightly around Finn’s neck and shoulders.

“Actually, there’s a place just down the road here…” Sami began walking off towards the direction he was indicating, “Called the Old Town.  A bit of an homage to the America of yesteryear.  Kinda touristy, but it’s a nice place to walk along and soak up the atmosphere, maybe spot some squirrels...they're pretty rampant around this place, usually.  Some shops, couple of restaurants, a great ice-cream shoppe as per your request…there’s a sushi place, but I don’t think that’s a good place to take a two year old to.  Oh, and there’s a place that sells like over 100 different flavours of popcorn”

“Sounds neat!” Finn agreed, “Doesn’t it sound neat, Jack?”

“’ay!” Jack exclaimed from his Finn-shaped perch.

“Well, motion carried,” Sami grinned at the duo, “Let’s go!”

* * *

Finn couldn’t help but gape at the rustic, old-school charm of what would otherwise be just another shopping mall in the middle of Florida.  Sami was right, the aesthetic of the Old Town lived up to it’s moniker.  Although the massive Skycoaster just outside the complex nearly took away from the visual.

“That thing is gigantic!” Finn was in awe at how far up the Skycoaster seemed to go.

“Biggest Skycoaster in the world, apparently,” Sami shrugged, subtly nodding his head in Jack’s direction, “Not for us today, though.”

“We gotta drag the gang here at some point,” Finn grinned, looking around the variety of rides on offer, “I bet I’d own it at the Go-Karts.”

Sami tried not to let the sheer fear of letting Finn loose on a Kart show on his face, “C’mon, let’s go for a wander before we stop for lunch.”

The stores on offer were unsurprising.  There were an array of jewellery stores, tourist shops filled with Disney merchandise, although Finn found himself rather fond of the 50’s inspired General Store.  He grinned at the array of stuffed toys on display, happily picking them up to show to Jack.  Jack seemed rather taken by a small green dinosaur plush toy, and Finn couldn’t help but melt at the pleading expression on Jack’s face.  Sami could only shake his head in amusement as Jack led Finn towards the cashier.

“You gave in far too easily,” Sami chided Finn as they walked out of the store.

“Oh, hush, he clearly loves it,” Finn smiled as Jack happily clutched the toy to his chest, “It’s not like I bought him one of those antique display cars, Sami.”

The trio continued to wander along, the noises of the nearby arcade causing Jack to whimper slightly.  Sami made a mental note to invite Enzo back here at some point…hopefully he’d upped his Skee-Ball game since the last time they played.  Finn was happy just to window-shop, pointing out silly things on display to Jack.  At one point Finn stopped in his tracks entirely to admire a caricature artist at work.  Finn wasn’t the only one intrigued by the artist, as Jack seemed transfixed by the picture being brought to life in front of his eyes.

“That’s really good,” Finn murmured, enjoying seeing a fellow artist at work, “Wow, I’d love to see him draw you, Sami.  You’ve got the perfect face for caricature work.”

“I…am not entirely sure if that was flattering or not,” Sami furrowed his brows together in thought, “Maybe next time?  I don’t think we can rely on Jack being patient enough to witness the whole event.”

“Yeah…” Finn agreed, “Oh! You know who’d make for an even better caricature?  Enzo!”

“Okay, yes, that **would** be amazing,” Sami chuckled as they began walking along again, “So, you about ready to eat or…”

“Wait, is that store selling British stuff?!” Sami suddenly found himself with an armful of child as Finn rushed over towards the store, “’British Isle Connection?!’  SAMI!  They have _real, **proper** _ tea-bags in there!  …and…oh, is that _actual_ Irish beer!?  They import stuff from the UK?  Why didn’t you _tell_ me this place existed?!”

“I’d actually forgotten about it,” Sami admitted, hastily trying to adjust his grip on Jack before the toddler could object, “…I take it you’re going in?”

“Sami, there’s a very high chance I might _never_ come back out of there.”

Sami sighed in resignation, “Right.  Okay, Jack, and I will head over to the A&W to order lunch…you can meet us there?”

“You’re the best!” Finn planted a hasty kiss on Sami’s cheek before disappearing into the store.

“…and we never saw Finn Bálor ever again,” Sami chuckled, “C’mon then Jack, let’s go eat.”


	3. Chapter 3

Contrary to Sami’s belief, Finn did manage to emerge from British Isle Connection…carrying approximately half the store in an array of bags in his hands.  Finn didn’t even seem the least bit apologetic, even under Sami’s withering stare.

“So, this place apparently has one of the best burgers on offer?  Like, it won some kind of award for being one of the burgers all tourists **have** to try?” Finn continued to blank Sami’s glare, perusing the menu as an excuse to hide from the sheer intensity of it, “…ooh, think I should be a _total_ tourist and order a root beer float?”

“We’ve still the ice cream place to go to after, Finn,” Sami shook his head, “I know it’s a day out and all, but we should have _some_ semblance of moderation?”

“Jack, boo this man,” Finn rolled his eyes, “Oh; can you eat the stuff in here?  Like, obviously you’re not having a bacon cheeseburger…”

“Well, I’ll ask before ordering…worse comes to worst I can have onion rings or the chilli cheese fries.  I just thought it’d be easier eating here rather than going to one of the full-service places…you know, for Jack’s sake.”

“Good idea,” Finn grinned over at Jack, who was happily sitting on Sami’s lap making his dinosaur toy eat his sun-hat, “So kiddo…what d’ya fancy?  Burger?  Hot Dog?”

“’icken?” Jack asked.

“Hey, yeah, they have chicken tenders on the kids menu,” Sami noted, “That sound good, Jack?”

Jack looked up at Sami and quickly nodded, a bright smile on both of their faces.  Finn smiled to himself from behind his menu, happy to see Sami had managed to relax a bit and enjoy himself.   _For all of his worries from earlier, he sure adapted into the role of caretaker extremely quickly._   Finn couldn’t find himself to be surprised at that… _Sami has a big heart and a lot of love to give; of course he’d be great with kids.  Just needed that little bit of self-confidence, I guess._

“What are you grinning at, Finn?”

Finn couldn’t quite hide his smile completely as he put the menu down on the table, “Oh, nothing…just having a really good day, is all.”

_He’ll be a great dad one day…_

“Well, have you made up your mind on what you want to eat?” Sami quirked an eyebrow at Finn’s vague answer, but chose not to pursue it any further, “Jack’s hungry.”

“’ungy, ‘inn!” Jack chipped in, waving his new dinosaur toy in the air for emphasis.

Finn nodded, “Okay, so chicken for Jack and Dino, and cheese curds for the Canadian.”

Sami pursed his lips together, a slightly offended look on his face, “That’s some rampant stereotyping there, Finn.”

“That also wasn’t a ‘no,’ Sami.”

“No, indeed it was not,” Sami nonchalantly agreed, “Could I get that with an order of fries and a selection of dips, thank you kindly.  Oh, and don’t get a soda for Jack…I’m fairly certain Jenny would kill me for giving him sugary carbonation.  Hang on, we packed bibs didn’t we…uh, right, and wipes might be useful later…”

_I take it back_ ; Finn chuckled to himself as he headed towards the queue to order up, _Sami’ll make a great **mother** one day…_

* * *

“That is the unholiest abomination of a burger I think I’ve _ever_ seen.”

Finn grinned wickedly as Sami scrutinised his choice of meal; the legendary A&W Papa Burger with an order of Onion Rings.  It was quite the sight to behold; two massive meat patties, cheese, the mysterious special sauce, slabs of tomato and a whole lot of lettuce.  Sami eventually managed to tear his gaze away from the humongous burger to start helping Jack eat his lunch, tearing the chicken tenders into small, bite-sized pieces.

“This wouldn’t have happened if you let me get that root beer float,” Finn picked up the burger, frowning slightly as he examined it closely, “Uh…now how on earth do you actually _eat_ this thing?”

“I’m sure you and your big mouth can manage somehow,” Sami chuckled.

“Well, Sami, if anyone knows what my big mouth can handle…” Finn wiggled his eyebrows at Sami suggestively, before remembering _slightly_ too late that there was a small child within listening distance.

“Finn!  Baby ears!” Sami quickly covered Jack’s ears, eliciting a surprised gasp from the toddler, “You _can’t say_ suggestive stuff like that…”

“Oops…” Finn grinned sheepishly as Sami removed his hands from Jack’s ears, “Oh, you two look _just_ like that dad and his kid from that picture!  I’m gonna hafta meet them if I see them in the crowd one of these days… _oh_ , maybe we could even recreate that photo!”

“Of _course_ that’s what you’d focus on…I should take away your camera,” Sami sighed, before turning his attention back to Jack, “You wanna try eating this yourself or...”

Sami didn’t get the chance to finish the question, as Jack eagerly picked up as much of the torn-up chicken as he could fit in his tiny hands and began to eat up with mucho gusto.

“Easy, kiddo, slow it down,” Sami warned gently, “No rush, don’t want you choking or anything.”

Jack merely flashed Sami a look of pure innocence that would probably have melted the average human heart.  Unfortunately for Jack, Sami was well used to that kind of look being used on him by a certain man-child sitting across from them at that very moment.  He couldn’t claim to be _completely_ immune, but the resistance was certainly being built up.  Jack seemed to realise that Sami wasn’t about to budge on the issue, and started to eat at a more sedate pace.

Sami sighed in relief, turning back to address Finn, “So, was there any place you wanted to go back to… _FINN_ are those _**my** _ fries?”

Finn screwed up his face, realising his conquest for free fries had been compromised, “What?  Don’t you know fries always taste better when you steal them from someone else?”

“I am _fairly_ certain that is a logical fallacy…” Sami sighed, looking down at his depleted portion of fries…only to see a tiny hand reaching into the box, “ **JACK**!”

Jack’s eyes widened in the most comical manner Finn had ever seen in response to being caught out, the tiny hand quickly retreating back to the chicken tenders.  Finn knew he would only get in even more trouble if he started laughing, so he quickly took a sip of his soda to try and hide his amusement.

“See what you’ve done, Finn…can’t be teaching kids bad habits like that,” Sami shook his head in disappointment, moving the box of fries away from Jack’s reach and pointedly ignoring the tiny ‘aww’ that emanated from the child on his lap, “Jack, you have your own fries over there, see?  Remember, if you want something you _ask_ for it, okay?”

“…’kay.”

“I was talking to _Jack_ , Finn.”

“Oh.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Finn finally gets his ice-cream, but at the cost of a somewhat surprising self-revelation.

After finishing their lunch without too many more incidents (Jack had asked Sami to try one of his “’eese bits” which led to Finn making puppy-dog eyes in Sami’s direction before making the same request…Sami only relented when Finn offered up some onion rings in exchange), the three headed off for Sweet Dreams Ice Cream café.  Jack happily toddled along the side-walk with one tiny hand held in Sami’s, with Sami reasoning this was _perfectly_ okay since Jack needed to walk off all the food he had just inhaled. 

Finn merely smiled knowingly to himself, wisely deciding not to comment.

* * *

 “Sami, are there any places ‘round here that do custom tees?”

Sami pursed his lips in thought, “Probably?  I mean, you can’t walk very far in the tourist-trap sections of Florida without running into one.  Thinkin’ of getting something made up?”

“I had a _great_ idea for new merch, got it while I was changin’ into this,” Finn shifted all his shopping bags into one hand, whilst gently tugging the hem of his T-Shirt with the other to illustrate his point, “Like…can you believe some people think the ‘Rey’ on this is talkin’ about Rey Mysterio?  And that the ‘Finn’ is referring to _me?”_

“Finn Bálor wearing a shirt that says ‘Finn’ on it, and they think it might be talking about you?” Sami tried very hard to keep the sarcastic drawl out of his voice, coming up with a faux monotone of disbelief in exchange, “I can **not** believe it.”

“I KNOW!  Philistines, the lot of ‘em,” Finn scoffed, “Anyway, I was thinking that maybe there could be a shirt like this that has, like, all the cool Finn’s on it?  Like, Finn from Star Wars, Finn from Adventure Time, Finn Bálor and the ‘me’ on the shirt would be the person wearing it!”

“…so it would read ‘Finn&Finn&Finn&Me’?” Sami asked for clarification, barely noticing Finn’s enthusiastic nodding before a slight look of wonder overcame his features, “That’s…huh… _three Finn’s…_ and _**me** …ooh_…”

Finn chuckled lightly at the slight blush forming on Sami’s face, “Sami, don’t think I don’t know what yer thinkin’ about, but remember there’s a kiddo walkin’ beside ya.  Little ears, remember?  Focus on my brilliant idea for now…we can talk about your 'Finntasies' later.”

Sami could only grin bashfully, looking down at the completely oblivious Jack…the toddler’s attention diverted towards some birds attempting to scavenge some fallen nuts from a street vendor’s cart, “Sorry Finn, but I get the feeling that the second Disney get wind of that idea it’ll be shut down faster than that weird taco stand Baron still mourns the loss of.”

“…aww, I suppose that’s true…” Finn sighed, “…but I could still have the shirt made for myself, right?  It’d be a shame to let my genius idea go completely to waste.”

“I certainly have no way of stopping you,” Sami smiled fondly at his partner, “But again, that’s for another day, I think?  We should probably be heading back home after we get ice cream.”

“Yeah, s’ppose so…” Finn mused to himself, watching Jack giggle softly as two of the birds started fighting over the discarded food on the ground, “Haven’t heard from Jenny yet, have ya?”

“Uh…” Sami reached into his pocket with his free hand, fishing out his mobile and quickly having a check, “No messages…guess she’s still at the hospital?  I really hope it’s nothing too serious…”

“Yeah…” Finn sighed softly, looking down at Jack again, “Do you think we’ll have to look after him overnight?”

“Overnight wouldn’t be a problem, he’d probably be fine as long as one of us was in the room with him…” Sami mused, a frown slowly forming, “…but we are due back at the Performance Centre tomorrow…and as brilliant as Matt has been in making the place a better place to work, I don’t think he’d stretch that to us bringing in a neighbour’s kid?”

“I could probably talk him into it,” Finn cheekily grinned, “Besides, he knows far more about looking after kids than we do.  He’d probably melt the second he saw Jack.”

“Let’s cross that bridge if we come to it, yeah?” Sami sighed, gently squeezing Jack’s hand to get the toddler’s attention, “You ready for ice cream now, or do you wanna watch the birds some more?”

Jack smiled widely up at Sami, enthusiastically waving his toy dinosaur up at him, “Ice ‘ream!”

“I suppose that was a silly question, yes,” Sami laughed softly as the trio began to walk off again, Jack happily toddling along beside Sami once more.

* * *

 “Are all these different flavours _completely_ necessary, Sami?”

Sami smirked to himself at the slack-jawed look on Finn’s face as he stared in disbelief at the wide selection of ice-cream flavours on offer.  He was about to answer Finn’s question, but had to stop himself short as he saw a very similar look on Jack’s face as his little head turned to look at all the ice-cream so quickly that Sami almost felt dizzy on his behalf.

“This is something I’ll never get used to in America… it’s like that popcorn store you mentioned with the hundred different flavours, or all those _weird_ Pop-Tarts that I have to stop you from buying?” Finn continued on with no response from Sami forthcoming, “Back in Ireland you were stuck with vanilla, chocolate or strawberry…or if you were feeling _really_ adventurous, mint choc-chip.”

“What about that ice-cream dessert we had when we were over for your sister’s wedding?” Sami asked, looking to catch the attention of the server, “That was different!”

“You mean the Viennetta?  Oh, that’s _grown-up_ ice-cream; little boys with scabby knees from playing football don’t get that.”

“Huh, the more you know…” Sami smiled politely at the young lady who had come over to serve them, “Two tubs of vanilla, please?”

Finn turned to face Sami with a small frown on his face, “Hey, what if Jack or I wanted something else?”

“You **always** order vanilla Finn, and I’m not ordering anything too sickly sweet or flavours with bits in for Jack…don’t want him choking on a mini-marshmallow or mixed nuts.”

“Oh,” Finn sighed in resignation, watching as two tubs of vanilla ice-cream were handed over to Sami, “Yeah, I guess that’s fair.  Wait, only _two_ tubs?  What about yours?”

“I’ll help feed Jack his first…then I can get a cone or something to take-away so we can head back for the bus,” Sami smiled gently at Finn as they wandered over to a nearby booth, before directing his attention to the toddler clinging on to his side, “Let’s just hope for minimal mess making here, kiddo…”

* * *

 Finn found himself mesmerized once more by the scene unfolding before his eyes.  Sami had sat Jack on his knees again, gently tying another bib around Jack's neck before beginning to feed the toddler small servings of the vanilla ice-cream.  Sami's attention was completely on Jack, allowing Finn complete unrestricted viewing of a side of Sami he found himself becoming increasingly fond of.  It wasn’t _quite_ distracting enough to prevent him from enjoying his own ice-cream, but it was a pretty close run thing.

And _then_ Sami started making little ‘choo-choo’ noises whilst moving the spoonful of ice-cream towards Jack’s mouth.

Finn felt his mouth open in complete surprise as Jack giggled at Sami’s silly noises, which only caused Sami to make even more exaggerated train sounds for Jack’s amusement.  Finn could suddenly see himself watching a similar scene, but with a dark-haired boy with shocking blue eyes who was eagerly telling his dad about the goals he scored at practice...or a little girl with curly red-hair discussing Disney princesses and  unicorns, her chocolate brown eyes wide open at the tales her father was telling her...

_I don’t want this to end…_

...his daydreaming was quickly brought to a halt as he realized two sets of worried looking eyes were locked directly on him.

"Okay Finn, this is the second time today I've caught you staring at me like you've seen a ghost..." Sami trailed off as he caught a good look at Finn, "...are you _crying_ , Finn?"

"Huh? No, I…” Finn stopped abruptly as he brought a hand to his face, gasping in surprise at the wetness that had begun to trickle down his cheek, “…I guess I am?  Sorry, don’t know what came over me there…”

“Something you need to talk about…?” Sami asked gently.

“…I honestly have no idea,” Finn shook his head, picking up a napkin from the table to wipe his eyes, “I’m having a great time today…but, yeah, these don’t feel like happy tears.  Kinda confused?”

“Well, let me know when you need to talk, okay?” Sami reached across the table to take one of Finn’s hands in his own, “Whenever you’re ready.”

“Have I told you lately how lucky I am to have you in my life?” Finn managed a smile for his partner, a small snuffle the only tell-tale sign something was still bothering him.

“Only as much as I am to have you…hey,” Sami glanced down at Jack, who had begun squirming in his lap, “Whoa, calm down there jitterbug, what’s up?  Need the toilet or…?”

“’inn sad…” Jack looked up at Sami with wide eyes and a small pout, “Needs hug.”

“I think that is an excellent idea, Jackaboy,” Sami smiled warmly at Jack, marvelling at his empathetic nature at such a young age, “C’mon then, grab Dino and let’s scoot over there…”

Finn could only plaster on a sad little smile as Sami and Jack rounded on his side of the booth.  Sami gently handed Jack over to Finn, the youngster immediately wrapping his tiny arms around Finn's torso as much as he could manage.  It took all of Finn’s willpower not to start crying right there and then, and he had to fight the urge to bury his face into Jack’s hair to keep his emotions hidden away from them.  Although it would have been a futile gesture in any case, Finn knew that there was no way Sami hadn’t noticed the flickering of emotions overcoming his features.  He found himself secretly glad that the seat beside him was currently full of bags of British goodies, because if Sami _had_ sat beside him and joined in the hug Finn was fairly sure nothing would have stopped the waterworks.  That meant that Sami had to settle for gently rubbing the back of Finn’s neck from the side of the booth, the soothing actions not quite enough to completely calm him down but still welcome enough to ground Finn a little.

“I think we’ve had enough excitement for one day…” Sami sighed; the tense feeling radiating from Finn had completely caught him off guard, especially after the great day they had, “Shall we head back?”

“…we can do this again sometime, right?” Finn asked quietly, looking down at Jack with that sad little smile that he couldn’t seem to shake off, “This…isn’t the last time?”

Sami pursed his lips together…unable to shake the feeling there was more to this than just babysitting blues but knowing this was not the time, place nor situation to voice his confusion.  It wouldn’t do any good to worry Jack any further…Sami was fairly sure kids were painfully good at picking up states of emotional distress… _maybe it was something my mother said once…_ “I’m fairly certain Jenny would let you borrow Jack if you asked, Finn.”

Finn looked up at Sami, wide-eyed and so full of hope that Sami very nearly had to take a step away from the unexpected intensity, “…and you’d be okay with that?”

“I don’t see why not,” Sami shrugged, trying to keep his tone light…hoping not to cause Finn any extra stress, “Unless every time we babysit ends with you being in such a maudlin mood.”

“Sorry, just being a bit of a silly,” Finn reached over for Jack’s dinosaur toy, waving it in the air in Sami’s general direction, partially as a distraction and partially to remain hidden, “Dino thinks it’s probably indigestion from that burger.”

“That would not surprise me, no,” Sami smiled softly.

“Dino’s pretty smart,” Finn nodded sagely, “Jack wouldn’t pick just any old lame dinosaur, after all.”

“’est dino taur,” A small muffled voice sounded from the vicinity of Finn’s chest.

“The _very_ best!”

Sami could only let out a small huff of air as the two children in front of him laughed at themselves.  Whatever might have been bothering Finn might have passed temporarily, but Sami just knew there would be one _helluva_ awkward conversation once Jack had gone home.

The sinking feeling in Sami’s stomach certainly wasn’t going to be calmed by ice-cream.


	5. Chapter 5

The excitement of the day finally began to take its toll on Jack on the bus ride back to Sami and Finn's apartment.  The thrum of the bus seemed to take a soporific effect on the toddler, and he was soon dozing away, safely tucked in Sami's arms.  Sami studiously kept one eye on the sleepyhead in his arms and the other checking the road ahead for their stop.  It was easier to pay attention to the road ahead despite the other option being Finn sat right beside him.  Sami could tell Finn was deep in thought, seemingly content to watch the world go by outside.  It was a habit Sami had noticed early on in their friendship, too often he’d noticed Finn sitting on the tour bus silently retreating into himself in thought.  Sami had learned quickly not to bother Finn in those instances, sometimes everybody just needed some silent contemplation time and if that’s what Finn wanted then Sami would oblige.  The only visible sign of distress Sami could see was Finn’s slightly furrowed brow, although a small, wistful smile did break through when he spotted a child playing with a puppy.

Sami decided it was in his best interest not to think about that in too great depth at the current moment.  It would be easy to assume it was the sight of the dog that had caught Finn's attention.  Sami knew Finn had been devastated by the loss of his dog, Lubo, last year...but the topic of adopting a pet of their own had never come up since they got together... _maybe it’d be a good thing if I get called up properly soon…at least Finn wouldn’t be alone in the apartment all the time…_

Instinctively, Sami just knew it wasn't going to be that simple.

* * *

If Finn had hoped for more playtime with Jack when they reached their apartment, they were summarily dashed as Jack had succumbed to slumber in Sami's arms.  Sami had tried to lay Jack down in the bed in the guest bedroom, but his little face had scrunched up immediately and Sami quickly picked him back up before a meltdown could occur.

“Now who’s spoiling him?” Finn teased gently as Jack happily snuggled back into Sami’s embrace.

“Given that the other option would lead to a cranky, tired human being…?” Sami muttered as he wandered back through to the apartment’s main living area, “If Jack’s anything like _you_ when you don’t get enough sleep…”

“Fair point, well made.”

Although Finn couldn't really blame the lad...it **had** been a long day, and Sami's embrace was the warmest and most comforting Finn had ever experienced.  He’d long since lost count of how many times he’d fallen asleep in Sami’s arms…and that was _before_ they’d even officially gotten together.  It was all Sami’s fault for being so cuddly, and for his habit of draping his arm around people without even asking…an irresistible invitation for snuggles, and _especially_ for daring to smell like warm toast and honey… _how dare he_.

“S’ppose I’ll just chill on the couch while this scamp naps on me…at least he’s lighter than you are,” Sami snickered at the indignant look on Finn’s face, “What’s in the DVD player?  Can always watch it with subtitles…”

Finn immediately grabbed the remote control and turned on the TV and Blu-Ray player for Sami’s benefit, watching on in delight as Sami’s eyes lit up in excitement as the title screen for ‘Back To The Future’ appeared.  Finn chuckled as he made sure the sound was turned down low enough to not disturb Jack, and double-checked he had put the subtitles on for Sami.

“I’ll let you enjoy it in peace,” Finn gently placed the remotes next to Sami on the couch, but Sami was already lost as the movie began to play, “I’ll…be in the Lego den.”

“Mmm-hmm…” Sami replied absent-mindedly, “Love you…”

Finn grinned, kissing the top of Sami’s head as he passed by en-route to his Lego wonderland, “Love you too, Sami McFly.”

* * *

Lego had been Finn’s choice of escaping reality for as long as he could remember.  It was something that was easy enough to follow even with the aches of a typical day in the ring, but also something just taxing enough to not bore his overactive thought process.  His thoughts had certainly been on overdrive since his imagination ran away with him in the ice-cream place… _maybe not something too complicated today…maybe just make a start on the Ghostbusters’ car…_

Finn frowned at the pieces in front of him, trying to tie them into the illustrations on the instructions…for a second Finn wondered if he was accidentally reading the Polish version of the instructions, as nothing seemed to be connecting in his mind.  Usually building his Lego sets was his sure fire getaway from the world, but this one time he found he couldn’t concentrate on it at all.  Thoughts of Sami and Jack kept filtering into his head, the idea of Sami going ballistic at Finn leaving his Lego lying around where the toddler could reach it entering his mind without warning.  Visions of a child sat happily on his lap building absolute nonsense with him kept filling his head (because no **way** was Finn going to be like Lord Business in the ‘Lego Movie’ to his kids… _no curbing their imaginations_ …).

Finn shook his head, once again trying to focus on the instructions to no avail.  Even as he wiped his eyes to try and clear his sight, he had to put the piece in his hand back down as his vision became blurry with unshed tears.  The frustration had set in, and his mind was too boggled to even try to continue… _maybe isolating myself wasn’t the best idea after all…_

_What is even going on with me…?_

Finn looked up from the desk as the sound of hushed laughter echoed from the living area.

_If Lego isn’t going to calm me down…then there’s only one other option…_

_I need my Sami…_

* * *

If Sami was surprised at Finn coming out from his Lego haven so soon he did a masterful job of hiding it.  He turned to face Finn with a warm smile on his face, only turning back to the movie once Finn had sat down beside him.  Finn immediately clung to Sami’s side, doing his best not to jostle the still-sleeping Jack as he got comfortable.

“Hey you,” Sami whispered gently, “Not feelin’ constructive after all?”

“Too tired, kept messing it all up…and I just really needed a hug, s’all,” Finn murmured.

“You can have all the hugs you want, Finn,” Sami’s voice was soothing, and between that and the familiar comforting scent Finn felt himself drifting off to it, “I mean…I can’t give you a proper hug right now, but feel free to use me as a pillow or something…”

Sami had barely finished his sentence before Finn’s soft snoring started to fill the room.

“… ** _annnnd_** you’ve both crashed out on top of me…terrific,” Sami sighed in disbelief, “You both better hope I don’t need to go anywhere in a hurry…”

* * *

Sami wasn't entirely sure how much time passed by after Finn passed out on him.  The movie had ended, and between a sleepy toddler on his lap and a dozing demon currently causing his arm to cramp up he couldn't do much else but sit there.  As much as he loved ‘Back To The Future’, Sami could only take watching the main menu screen so many times.  Thankfully the power saver mode kicked in, which left nothing but a blank screen and two different sets of snoring as white noise.

It was... _strange_ , in a quaint, comforting sort of way.  Sami was fully used to non-stop commotion in his life, be it at home or at work or on the road.  This was something completely different, much like the rest of the day had been _.  'Good' different, though?_   It had been a largely successful babysitting venture, _hadn't it?_   Nobody threw a massive tantrum, nobody dropped the small human being on his head, and for the most part everybody had a fun time.

But something was clearly still bothering Finn, and **that** was a problem.  Sami hadn't missed those flickers of emotion Finn tried to hide...sadness obviously, guilt, longing, wistfulness…

**Hope**.  That was a major one.

Whatever it was, it was enough to put Finn off building Lego...and that alone was cause for concern.

_‘Though there’s not much I can do about it right now...’_

Sami was stuck in place both metaphorically and literally, and with no possible escape route from the two sleeping lumps that were on top of him he found himself with limited options... _'well, if you can't shift them, guess you join 'em'._

With one last fond look at the two sleepyheads surrounding him, Sami let his head rest on top of Finn's and let himself drift away...

* * *

There were probably a hundred worse ways to be rudely awoken from a power nap, but at that moment Finn couldn't think of a _better_ one than the warm fuzzy feeling of having your loved one so close by.  He allowed himself a small smile at his current situation…Sami must have fallen asleep at some point after Finn had, Sami’s head resting atop his own.  Jack was still fast asleep in Sami’s arms, his tiny little fists holding on to Sami’s t-shirt and…well, the copious amount of baby drool staining Sami’s shirt wasn’t _quite_ as adorable as what surrounded it, but better it was dribble than the messier alternatives.

Finn had to admit to being a little jealous.  Not of the being covered in drool thing, but by how _easy_ Sami had made it all look and how _quickly_ he’d adapted… _much like his in-ring work, actually_.  It had taken Finn quite a while to get used to being around his brother’s kids, let alone try to look after them...exactly like how Sami had reacted that morning to suddenly having a toddler in his arms.  Now he was perfectly fine with being ‘Uncle Fergie’…and he seriously thought he’d have been the one leading the charge in today’s babysitting adventure.  But Sami had been right there with him the whole time, and everything had felt so _natural_ that Finn had to repeatedly stop and remind himself this was just for today.

That was the same reason Finn didn’t immediately whip out his phone and take a picture of the sight before him.  Jack wasn’t _theirs_ to photograph and although Finn was sure Jenny wouldn’t have minded him taking a few pictures, it wouldn’t have been right in the end.  _Cute as the picture would’ve been…_

Finn blinked in surprise as a sudden ringing noise broke him out of his internal soliloquy.  It wasn’t his ringtone, and he was _fairly_ sure that Jack didn’t own a mobile phone (although that wasn’t necessarily a given in this day and age…)

Which left only one option.  Finn looked around the room to see if Sami had left his phone lying around, but it seemed that it was somewhere on Sami’s person.  As fun as frisking Sami for his phone sounded, Finn took the completely more appropriate option of waking Sami up.  Finn gently nudged Sami’s shoulder, “Sorry Sami, need you to wake up for me…”

“1.21 Giga… _what?_ ” Sami mumbled groggily, looking around the room in a daze before his gaze settled on Jack still resting on his lap…somehow Sami’s ringtone hadn’t woken him up, “Oh…ugh…Finn, my phone’s in my pocket…couldja fish it out…no free hands…how are you **still** asleep, young man?”

“Sure, hang on…” With Sami’s permission firmly in place, Finn slipped his hand into Sami’s jeans pocket and quickly retrieved the makeshift alarm clock that was Sami’s mobile.  With a quick glance to see who was calling, Finn smiled softly and answered, “Hiya Jenny, what’s a happening?”

“Finn…hey, I’m just leaving the hospital now…” Jenny sounded weary, not at all surprisingly, “Just making sure you’re at your apartment and not gallivanting all over the place.”

“Yeah, we’re home…just caught us having a lazy moment,” Finn smiled over at Sami, his partner’s face contorting into a look of disgust as he noticed the drool patch staining his t-shirt, “Everything okay?”

“Yeah…dad had a fall and bumped his head; they had to check for swelling and concussion symptoms…” Finn winced in sympathy at Jenny’s reply, he’d lost count of the amount of times he’d had to get his own head checked out after a nasty bump or the times he’d sat and waited _less_ than calmly on Sami going through the same tests, “Everything looks clear, but they’re keeping him in overnight for observation.  You two managing okay?  It sounds… _suspiciously_ quiet for an apartment with a toddler within.”

“Jack’s napping!” Finn replied with a smile, “Slept right through Sami’s phone going off.  I’m beginning to think he could sleep through the zombie apocalypse…”

“Ask if we should wake him up,” Sami interjected, voice still hazy from being rudely awoken, “He’s been out a solid coupla hours now…worried he won’t sleep tonight…”

“Did you get that?” Finn asked.

“Yeah, best wake him up before dinnertime,” Jenny replied, “Shouldn’t be too cranky by the time I get there too.”

“Gee, _thanks_ ,” Finn groaned, “We’ll have everything packed up and ready for you getting back.”

“See you in a bit, then,” Jenny sounded relieved to hear that, “Thanks again, Finn.”

“Not a problem,” Finn replied, “See you soon!”

Finn sighed softly as he placed Sami’s phone on the table, he hadn’t quite realised just how late it had gotten.  _Must’ve been out longer than I thought…_

“Okay, you two have kept me in place long enough…” Sami handed Jack over to Finn without any further preamble, cutting off any potential Finn protests immediately, “I need to stretch my legs and… _ick_ …change my shirt.”

“You’re leaving me on my own to wake him up?” Finn scrunched his face up as he noticed Jack beginning to stir in his arms, “Meany.”

“I will literally be a couple of minutes, Finn,” Sami replied as he wandered off to their bedroom, “You’ll be fine!  Remember who wanted to babysit today in the first place?”

“…he’s shiftier than I give him credit for…” Finn muttered as movement in his arms caught his attention.  He then proceeded to melt as Jack did a little baby yawn followed by a little baby stretch, “Hey kid, you back with us?”

“…’inn…” Jack yawned again, looking around the room with bleary eyes, “…dino?”

“He’s right here, Jacko,” Finn quickly hopped up off the couch to retrieve Jack’s newest acquisition, “He was letting you sleep like a good dinosaur should.”

“…’ay,” Jack took the stuffed dinosaur from Finn and cuddled it close to him, “We play now?”

“Yep!  At least until your mum gets back,” Finn smiled warmly as Jack flashed a baby grin at him, “Let’s play!”

There was no harm in pretending this was normal for a little while longer.

_Right…?_


	6. Chapter 6

Sami had been quite happy to let Finn tire himself out playing with Jack for the rest of their babysitting tenure, the youngster sounded like he was having the time of his life as Finn roared and stomped around the apartment with him perched precariously on Finn’s shoulders.  Thankfully the floor appeared to be free of any discarded Lego pieces that might actually be the dinosaur’s one true weakness…Sami _really_ didn't want to explain to Jenny why they were heading **back** to the hospital...

That left Sami to pick up after the two boys, getting everything sorted for Jenny's arrival.  Luckily there wasn't much to pack away in Jack's baby bag...Finn had been enough of a distraction for the toddler to make bringing out a lot of Jack's own toys unnecessary.  For the most part all Sami had to pack away was the stuff they had taken for baby's day out; Jack's sunhat, the industrial strength sunscreen (Sami made sure to take a note of the brand as a reminder to pick some up for his own benefit) and the unused bibs (Sami had kept the dirty ones back to wash later, he'd give those back to Jenny afterwards).

All that was left to pack were the few toys Finn had excitedly dragged out from earlier (and had subsequently been left lying around when he got bored and moved on to a different toy).  Finn's bitter disappointment at the lack of building blocks had almost been tempered by a Chewbacca plush toy (and Sami was under no illusions that Finn hadn't snuck off to order himself one off the internet at some point).  Jack had barely relinquished control of his new dinosaur plush toy since Finn bought it, so Sami decided packing that away would probably be a premature move.  There were a few other stuffed toys scattered around...Finn's Finn the Human toy lay haphazardly under the coffee table, and a lion and two stuffed giraffes stood tall on top of it.

_Wait...’ **two** ’?_

Sami frowned to himself as he picked up the two giraffes.  One was definitely Jack's...he recalled Finn recklessly tossing the toy in his general direction earlier that day.  The other...well, Finn had an extensive collection of giraffe memorabilia himself and was _probably_ one of his (Sami was slightly amazed Jack hadn't gone straight for the giant giraffe that stood proudly by the recliner chair)...but, _uh_ , which giraffe was Jack's and which was one of Finn's?

There was a sharp knock at the door before Sami could ask Finn if he could identify his giraffe from this small line-up.  Sami briefly looked over at Finn as he came to a complete stop, looking over at the front door with a confused sounding “rarr?” which was swiftly followed by an indignant squeal of tiny proportions.

“Dun stop, ‘inn!”

_“Sorry!”_

Sami could only chuckle lightly as Finn roared and resumed stomping around the apartment, leaving Sami to answer the door.

“Hi Jenny, come on in...” Sami stood aside to let Jenny into the apartment, closing the door behind her before drawing the tired-looking woman into a hug, “Finn said your dad’s gonna be okay?”

“Yeah, he’s gonna have to be more careful around stairs though...” Jenny’s reply was cut off by another roar, “...okay, now _that_ sounds more like an apartment with a child in it.  What on earth...?”

“Oh, yeah, Jack seems to be going through a dinosaur phase.  You’ve been warned,” Sami grinned as he led Jenny further into the apartment, “And if he’s anything like Finn, he might never leave it.  Have a seat, will you?  I’m nearly done packing all of Jack’s stuff away.  Want anything whilst you wait?  Drink?  Snack?”

“I’m fine, thanks Sami.  Sounds like you’ve had your hands full today,” Jenny managed a small smile as Sami nodded far-too-quickly in agreement, “Speaking of which...why are you carrying two stuffed giraffes around?”

“Oh! Yeah, I _think_ one of these is Jack’s but I’m not exactly sure which one it is?” Sami lifted the two giraffes up and down, as if weighing them up, “Finn has a _large_ collection of stuffed giraffes himself, you see...any clue to the true owners of these particular two would be appreciated.”

Jenny laughed softly, “Well...uh...oh!  Either of them have a chewed-up looking tail?”

“Uh...” Sami quickly checked both giraffes, before raising the one in his right-hand up, “This one does, yes.”

“Unless Finn has a habit of chewing on his toys, then that one’s probably Jack’s,” Jenny replied with a chuckle, “He wouldn’t use ordinary teething rings, so his stuffed toys bore the brunt of it.”

“Good enough!” Sami grinned as he packed that giraffe into the baby bag, “Okay, I think that’s everything _except_ for the actual child.  FINN!  Jenny’s here!”

“Ooh!  Did you put the kettle on?  Ask her if she wants a _proper_ cup of tea!” Finn’s voice excitedly echoed around the apartment, the concept of an inside voice thrown aside whilst playing with Jack.

“’Proper’...?” Jenny tilted her head in confusion.

Sami shook his head, “He discovered a place that sells imported tea bags from England.  I get the feeling he was looking for an excuse for a cuppa.”

“I don’t _need_ an excuse for a cuppa tea,” Finn smiled brightly as he stomped towards the couch, still partially in dinosaur mode whilst Jack continued to giggle madly on his shoulders, “Just being polite.  Honest!”

“Oh...” Jenny didn’t look any less confused for the explanation, “Sorry, I’m more of a latte kinda girl.”

“Drat,” Finn groaned, “I will inject some culture into this place if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Says the man bellowing dinosaur noises around the apartment,” Sami chuckled, reaching up to remove Jack from Finn’s shoulders whilst pointedly ignoring the huffy look on Finn’s face, “Anyway Jenny, I believe this young man belongs to you?”

“Hello baby,” Jenny smiled warmly as Sami handed Jack over to his mammy, “Sounds like you had a good day.”

“Not a baby,” Jack huffed, “’m a dino-taur.”

Jenny frowned slightly, before looking back up at Sami, “I was warned.”

“You were!” Sami agreed, moving over to retrieve Jack’s new dinosaur toy from the coffee table, “Here you go Jack-o-saur.  _Rarr_.”

Sami was rewarded with another delighted squeal as Jack hugged the toy close to him once again.

“That’s...new, isn’t it?” Jenny asked, looking between Sami and a slightly sheepish looking Finn, _“Finn_...this your fault?”

“Well...yeah, guilty,” Finn rubbed the back of his head, “He _really_ wanted it, though...”

“You big softie,” Jenny laughed warmly.

Finn put on the best mock-horrified face he could muster and aimed it directly at Jack, "No, I'm a big, scary dinosaur!  Aren't I, Jack?"

Jack tilted his head, and if Finn didn't know any better he would have sworn Jack was about to shut him down with absolutely no mercy.

“...you a dino-softie!” Jack burst into tiny baby giggles as Finn’s jaw dropped in shock.

“That’s pretty accurate, actually,” Sami agreed nonchalantly.

_“Oi!_   NO!”  Finn growled, puffing up his chest and standing on his tip-toes, “Big and scary!”

“A little bundle of lovely, more like,” Sami grinned, draping his arm over Finn’s shoulders.

“Well, I hope you didn’t spoil him _too_ much...” Jenny chided, and Finn immediately deflated...suddenly feeling like he was back in the headmasters’ office at school for some reason, “Don’t want Jack rejecting every other babysitter because you guys were too good to him.”

“I promise today was just a one-off because we had the day off and wanted a fun day out,” Sami interjected before Finn could start sputtering apologies, “Next time it’ll be a more down-to-earth affair.”

“Next time?” Jenny seemed surprised by the offer.

“Well, it’ll probably be less asking us to babysit and more arranging a play date for our boys,” Sami shrugged as Finn unashamedly nodded in agreement.

“Okay, I’ll try and give a little more warning for next time, then,” Jenny smiled as she moved to stand up, “For now, it’s time to get things back to normal.  Say goodbye, Jack.”

“Buh-bye ‘ami,” Jack reached out his arms towards Sami for a hug.

“Later kiddo,” Sami responded as he hugged Jack goodbye.

Jack pulled away and grinned over at Finn, “Bye, silly.”

“Bye, trouble,” Finn responded only half seriously, getting a farewell hug from Jack of his own.

“Here, I’ll walk you out Jenny,” Sami grabbed Jack’s baby bag and hoisted it over his shoulder, “Finn can tidy up his toys for me coming back.”

“Ha, ha,” Finn rolled his eyes at Sami, before turning his attention back to Jenny, “Keep us updated on your dad?  We’re here if you need anything.”

“Thanks Finn,” Jenny nodded as Sami began to lead her towards the front door, “Really, thanks to both of you for today.”

“Any time!” Finn cheered, waving goodbye to Jack and Jenny.

“I didn’t realise Finn liked kids so much,” Jenny remarked offhandedly to Sami as they left the apartment.

“Me neither,” Sami admitted, a slight frown on his face, “…it’s not something we’ve ever talked about, really.”

“Bit early for that talk, isn’t it?” Jenny nudged Sami gently, “You’ve only been together…what…not even half a year yet?”

“Feels like longer…” Sami smiled wistfully, “I’m probably worrying over nothing…but Finn seemed a bit out of sorts earlier, and I’m wondering if it **is** the kids thing?  A ‘don’t know what you want till you have it’ kinda thing?”

“That’s something you’d have to ask him, I’m afraid,” Jenny replied apologetically.

“I was afraid of that…” Sami sighed, “Oh well, something to look forward to…”

“Good luck with that,” Jenny chuckled, coming to a stop outside her apartment door, “Thanks again, Sami.  You’re an angel.”

Jack looked over at Sami, a confused look on his face, “No ‘ings tho?”

“They’re just _very_ well hidden, Jack,” Sami laughed as a look of understanding came over Jack’s face.

* * *

As Sami closed the door behind him, he couldn’t help but let out a little sigh of relief.  They’d gotten through the whole babysitting experience with little-to-no fuss; Jack was still in one piece... _Sami_ was still in one piece...and Finn...

Finn was currently sitting on their couch, rolling his neck and shoulders.  Sami couldn’t help but wince at a particularly loud crack, and Finn’s subsequent grunt of discomfort had Sami rushing over immediately.

“You okay, Finn?” Sami felt the creeping of slight panic but managed to keep his voice level.

“Yeah, just feelin’ really disjointed,” Finn joked, “Carrying a two-year-old around is Hell on your shoulders.”

Another wave of relief rolled over Sami, a small smile forming as he moved directly behind Finn, “Hmm...who was it that said something about ‘tossing people twice our size around’ earlier?”

“Shut _uuuuuhhhhp_...” Finn’s retort trailed off as he felt Sami’s hands on his shoulders, gently massaging the abused appendages, “... _God_ , Sami you are _unfairly_ good at that.”

“I think you’re exaggerating just a little bit,” Sami chuckled, beginning to work on the knots in earnest.

Finn let his head drop slightly as Sami continued to work his magic, little gasps of relief escaping as Sami continued, “Well **I** think you’re amazing.  So _there_.”

“Well, I guess I’ll let you win this one,” Sami sighed in mock-defeat, his hands gently caressing Finn’s shoulders as he cheered for his mock-victory, “That feel better?”

“You always make me feel better, Sami,” Finn tilted his head up towards Sami, a grateful smile on his face.  He reached his hand up to cup Sami’s cheek, “C’mere you...”

Sami offered absolutely no resistance, allowing Finn to gently guide him.  The kiss was gentle, but brief...the awkward angle not allowing for much more than a hint of things to come later.

“Okay...mmm...” Sami smiled as Finn continued to try and kiss wherever he could reach, not even making a token attempt to pull away, “I’m gonna throw a light dinner for us together...something with actual healthy content.”

“Kisses are healthy...” Finn murmured into the crook of Sami’s neck between said healthy kisses.

“Not in the nutritional sense,” Sami giggled as Finn kissed a particularly sensitive spot on his neck, “Okaaaay, you’re trying to distract me...”

“Maaayyybe...” Finn smirked against Sami’s skin, “...maybe I just wanna make out.”

“I promise we can do all the making out you want...” Sami pulled away slightly, Finn trying his hardest to follow, “...after dinner.”

Finn huffed, “That is the _least_ favourable compromise I’ve ever been offered.”

“Take it or leave it, mister,” Sami pressed one last kiss to Finn’s forehead as Finn reluctantly let Sami go, “Pick something on the television for us to ignore whilst we make out, then.”

* * *

“You know, there’s one constant in this modern world...” Finn motioned vaguely towards the television, which was currently showing infomercials, “All these channels...”

“...and nothing’s on except for so bad they’re good commercials,” Sami concluded, placing a tray down on the coffee table, “Here we go...eat up.”

Finn looked over at the tray of food Sami had brought through...a vegetable platter with a hummus dip.  Finn eyed the carrot and celery sticks, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices and sliced peppers before turning to Sami with a salacious smirk, “Oooh, finger food eh?  Sure that’s a good idea, Sami?”

“You are incorrigible, Finn Bálor...” Sami replied, a huff of laughter escaping despite himself, “...though I’m glad you seem to be in a better mood now.”

“Who wouldn’t be in a good mood after a fun day like today?” Finn asked as he reached forward for a carrot stick, and scooping up a disproportionately large amount of hummus with it, “...did _you_ have a good day, though?”

The slight hint of uncertainty from earlier hung on Finn’s last few words, although he tried to cover it up by taking a comically sized bite of his hummus covered carrot stick.  Sami pursed his lips, picking up some pepper slices and dipping them more delicately into the hummus, “I mean...it wasn’t the day I was _expecting_ to have...but after the initial shock dwindled a little, yeah.  Yeah, today was a good day.”

“That’s a relief...I was worried about you after this morning...” Finn mused, before turning to look at Sami with an unguarded look of wonder, “...but you were really great!

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Sami shook his head, popping the pepper into his mouth.

“Sami, you literally made train noises when you fed Jack,” Finn smiled crookedly, “You made sure he stayed tidy and worried over whether you’d rubbed enough sun-screen on him.”

“I was really just calling it on the fly...” Sami shrugged.

“Well your instincts were on point,” Finn nudged Sami gently with his shoulder, getting a small smile in return, “Really, it was amazing to witness.  I thought I’d seen every side of you, but...I’m guessing not many people have gotten to see Papa Sami like I did today...”

Sami’s little smile turned into a tiny frown as Finn suddenly trailed off, turning his head away from Sami slightly to stare off into the distance with a melancholy look on his face.

“...and part of me is scared I’ll never get to see that side of you again.”

“How do you mean?” Sami asked gently, sliding a little closer to Finn and getting no resistance when he wrapped his arm around Finn’s shoulders to pull him back towards himself, “C’mon, talk to me here Finn...don’t let us be that couple who’re afraid to talk about their problems.”

Finn sighed nervously, pursing his lips as he tried to articulate his thoughts.  He took a moment to collect himself, seeking out comfort from his partner by resting his head on Sami’s shoulder “...it’s not really a problem...just me wanting something I might never be able to have.”

“Then it’s _definitely_ something we need to talk about,” Sami gave Finn’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze, before moving his hand to the back of Finn’s head to gently card his fingers through the short strands of hair.  Finn’s contented mewls of approval were a relief to hear, “Take your time.  I’m right here for you, Finn.”

“You always seem to have been...” Finn replied wistfully, “Really, you’re so good to _everybody_ you care about.  Especially today with Jenny and Jack.  You were so supportive and comforting to Jenny, helping to ease her worries by trying to cheer her up...and Ja...Jack...”

Sami raised and inquisitive eyebrow as Finn’s voice broke slightly trying to say Jack’s name.  _‘Guess that confirms my suspicions from earlier...’_   Finn’s gaze had cast down to the floor, his brow creased in thought.  Sami could only continue to gently massage the back of Finn’s head, waiting patiently for him to resume.

“...you were _perfect_ with him today,” On paper that seemed like a compliment, but the tone Finn adopted suggested that it broke his heart to say the words out loud.  It certainly didn’t do Sami’s heart any favours to hear Finn speak in such a down beat manner, “So patient and understanding...playful but stern when you had to be...like a natural, you were.”

“I think you’re underselling yourself a bit, Finn.  I was just nervously guessing my way through the whole thing, but you took it all in your stride and loved every second of it...you made it look easy.  I don’t think I’d have managed on my own,” Sami confessed, taking Finn’s hand in his own, “ **We** did a great job today.  _Together_.  The babysitting tag team champions of Florida.”

Finn barked out a short laugh of disbelief, “ _Really_ , Sami?”

“I’d have said ‘of the world,’ but we’ve only babysat here so...” Sami shrugged, all the while trying not to giggle at Finn’s expression, “...but I’m guessing the fact we did a good job isn’t what’s bothering you?”

“...s’part of it, kinda?” Finn had a soft smile on his face, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes, “Watching the two of you interact...like you weren’t expecting things to go well, and the look of awe on your face when it did...I wished I could see you like that for longer.  Seeing you like that made somethin’ go off in my head...like, ’YES!  That’s the person I want to raise a family with someday.’  Even started daydreamin’ about what it would be like if we were out with our _own_ kids.”

“Finn, wow...” Sami squeezed Finn’s hand, wincing slightly as he gripped a little too hard, “That’s...”

“I know, it’s stupid,” Finn sighed in resignation, “Had it in my head what the kids looked like and everything.”

Sami bit his lip gently, wondering if he dared to ask the question on the tip of his tongue, “...what...what did they look like?”

“A little boy...with my hair and eyes,” Finn murmured, “...and a little girl with curly red hair and honey brown eyes...like yours.  Cutest things in the world...”

“I’m sure they would be...” Sami pulled the unresisting Finn into a hug, “Finn, I am incredibly touched that you would think of me being such an important part of your future.”

“You’re not mad?” Finn’s voice was muffled against Sami’s shoulder, but that didn’t totally hide the surprise behind it.

Sami placed a calming kiss on top of Finn’s head before answering the question, “Mad?  Finn, you’ve **just** told me you see us raising a family together one day!  That’s...okay, that’s actually _kind_ of scary, but still...you see a lovely future for us and that’s...that’s really wonderful and reassuring to me.”

Sami could feel Finn frowning against him, “You didn’t think I saw a future for us before?”

“Not to such a serious degree,” Sami replied, trying to maintain a level tone despite his heart suddenly skipping several beats, “Like, I can imagine you thinking we’ll be at WrestleMania together one day, either teaming together or wrestling each other...maybe getting a dog that neither of us can agree on a name on, so it ends up with a million nicknames instead.  That kind of thing?”

Finn lifted his head up slowly, eyes glistening in the light, “That all sounds lovely.”

“It’s maybe a little too soon for us to be seriously considering all that...” Sami confessed, hoping he wasn’t about to disappoint Finn too much, “One day...when we’re settled a bit and know exactly what we’ll be doing on the main roster, where we’re going to be from day to day...we can talk about this again.  It’s not something we should ever rush into.”

“Yeah...that makes sense,” Finn agreed, leaning his head on Sami’s shoulder again, “I was worried you’d start runnin’ for the hills when I mentioned the kids thing…or that you would say you never want children.”

“You can _never_ say never, Finn, but I won’t lie to you and say it’s something I’ve seriously considered,” Sami’s hand returned to the back of Finn’s head, rubbing soothing circles at the base, “When you’re younger, you feel like society’s got all these expectations of you...get a steady job, marry a nice girl, have the 2.5 kids...or whatever the statistic is these days.  Then in high school I realised that I didn’t necessarily have to do any of that and it was **such** a relief to me, made my lack of interest in girls and anything _other_ than wrestling seem more normal.  I could do my own thing, chase my own dreams.  Wrestling became my baby...my friends in the business became my family...and I finally made it here.”

“You did,” Finn whispered.

“And now look what I have,” Sami smiled warmly at Finn, “The job of my dreams and the unconditional love of an amazing person...two of those very three things I never really considered for myself before.  Whatever happens in our future...whether it’s kids, pets or picket fences...I’m sure it’ll be incredible.”

“So that’s not a ‘no,’ then,” Finn asked, seeking clarification, “Just a ‘not yet?’”

“Exactly.”

“Okay...” Finn smiled in relief, “That works...I don’t think I’m ready to share you full time just yet anyway.”

“Or your Lego,” Sami grinned as Finn sidled up closer.

“Definitely not sharing my Lego any time soon,” Finn concurred, a smirk on his face as he straddled Sami’s lap.

“What’cha doin’?” Sami raised an eyebrow at Finn’s sudden-but-not-unwelcome change of position.

“I was promised after-dinner making out,” Finn pouted, leaning forward to wrap his arms around Sami’s neck.

“You were!  Let’s do that!” Sami laughed as Finn began to edge closer towards him, “And if you’re really lucky, I might even divulge some of **my** thoughts from earlier...”

“Thoughts...?” Finn paused as Sami pointedly looked down at Finn’s t-shirt.  It took a moment before the metaphorical light bulb went off above Finn’s head, “Oh!  The ‘three Finn’s and you’ fantasy!”

“Yep...” Sami waggled his eyebrows, “Tell you what, you go get comfy in the bed...I’ll clear up the food and be right through for make-out duty.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Finn’s grin lit up the room, “And you better be ready to tell me all about that Finntasy of yours in _excruciating_ detail.”

Sami groaned as Finn subtly rolled his hips, before slinking away from Sami...not once breaking eye-contact, and Sami suddenly found himself feeling caught in some kind of trap, “I _think_ I can manage that, yes.”

“Looking forward to it,” Finn growled playfully, and with one last caress to Sami’s cheek he happily bounded off towards their bedroom.

Sami could only chuckle to himself as he began clearing up the remains of their dinner.  Forget being ready for kids...sometimes he wasn’t _entirely_ sure he would **ever** be fully prepared for dealing with Finn Bálor.

_‘This is my crazy life now...I guess I can live with that.’_


End file.
